


Like The Birds

by animeandraia (maliciouslycreative)



Category: Bakuten Shoot Beyblade, Beyblade
Genre: Birds, First Kiss, M/M, Minor Injuries, Mutual Pining, kai is an idiot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-10
Updated: 2018-05-10
Packaged: 2019-05-04 15:54:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14596461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maliciouslycreative/pseuds/animeandraia
Summary: To Brooklyn the only thing that mattered were birds. That is until he finds a broken soul that he just can't ignore.





	Like The Birds

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea at what point the fandom changed from spelling it Yuriy to Yuri but whatever, I'm fandom old and I'm not going to change it after 13+ years. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> This was originally posted on October 29, 2009 on ff.n. It was dedicated to Leina and Rubellite from Ty Kamara and Gaia. I miss you guys and hope that you did eventually find this story.

Her name was Madeline. She had always been his favourite: strong, beautiful and loyal. Her feathers were of a soft brown and upon her breast was a sprinkling of darker spots. Her left wing was slightly crippled, her one imperfection. When he found her she was so desperate for saving for she sang a sweet song of death and hearing that song Brooklyn saved her. Now she could not leave him.

Brooklyn rolled to his stomach and set Madeline before himself to watch her frolic between the blades of grass. So free, yet just as much a prisoner.

‘ _I’d be happier if you just died. Maybe I’ll leave you out in the woods some time to let the scavengers peck you apart.’ The old man spat on the ground and turned his back to Brooklyn._

His stomach emitted a low growl. He hadn’t eaten since last night and it was now well past noon. Memories of last night’s dinner haunted him. Roast chicken. The plump body of a once magnificent bird lay before everyone: feathers plucked and parsley laid in their wake. His stomach churned. Brooklyn would much rather have fish. And thinking of fish always made Brooklyn think of Moses who was off at the pier fishing, as he often was at this time on a Sunday. He put back most of the fish, only keeping the old ones. Brooklyn remembered his grandfather telling him that you could always tell which ones were the old ones.

‘ _They just have this look. When you catch them they flop about like any other fish but that’s instinct. Where you gotta look is in the eyes. Them eyes tell all. They look old. Like they’ve seen everything in their small world. Once they find they can’t win any longer they just give up and await their death happily.’_

Madeline was like that when Brooklyn found her.

A larger bird landed by Madeline, he was known as Philip and he loved Madeline as much as Brooklyn did. Madeline looked to Brooklyn, as if asking permission to leave. Brooklyn nodded and smiled at her. “You are free, go where you please.” Happily the birds flew to their nest.

With Madeline off at her nest Brooklyn figured he should eat something before Garland got cross with him. He started towards the house but was halted by a soft, accented voice. “Are you Brooklyn?”

“Who wants to know?” He turned his head back to look at the person. This glance was enough for the other young man to throw a vicious punch which caught Brooklyn on the cheek. Blood welling in his mouth Brooklyn stood stunned. Turning to fully observe his assailant he spat blood on the grass.

“That was for nearly killing Kai! Twice! I would have gotten to you sooner but your pretty boyfriend had me in a coma.”

Yuriy Ivanov, how uninteresting. With a yawn Brooklyn turned and headed to the house. His stomach growled again.

A hand gripped Brooklyn’s arm tightly. “Don’t walk away from me! I want you to give Garland a message.”

Even though Yuriy’s voice dripped with malice it was lost on Brooklyn. “You’re starting to annoy me.” He turned yet again. And that was the moment that he saw it. Yuriy’s eyes were old. They accepted death. Why on someone so young could eyes be so old? They were like Madeline’s. Maybe... maybe Yuriy would not leave him? Like Madeline had stayed by him? Maybe he’d stay around unlike... “Coach...”

Driven by old desires Brooklyn used their close proximity to pull Yuriy closer and bring him into a pleading kiss.

Yuriy was stunned for a moment, completely at a loss at what to do. Reflexes coming alive Yuriy pushed Brooklyn away and stumbled back. After a second of shock he stuttered, “tell Garland next time I see him I’ll break something.” As quickly as possible he left the premise.

“Come back any time.” Brooklyn whispered as his new pet hurried away.

Madeline sang Yuriy a sad song.

-X-

“I’m going out,” Yuriy leaned on the back of Kai’s recliner.

“Hn.” Kai didn’t even look up.

Yuriy stormed out of the room and after slipping his shoes on he made sure to slam the door as hard as possible.

Always sitting and lamenting over them. It was his own fault for getting in such a mess anyway. Rei was unhappy since Kai left him for Takao. Takao, in turn, just as unhappy since Kai still wanted Rei. And Yuriy, the unhappiest of them all since nobody would even stop for a second to notice he existed. Well, Brooklyn had certainly noticed. But why? The two didn’t even know each other.

“Fuck this.” His fist connected with the mailbox forming a large dint and injuring his hand. He made it to a nearby park and slid onto a bench before breaking down. He was blank; a statue of despair on display for everyone. He craved the strict structure that the Abbey held. Balkov was a horrible man, yet predictable. For 16 years life had been predictable and now that he was free Yuriy was lost within life’s forest.

By now the sun was dropping low on the houses, kissing the shingles. The pain in his hand had long since subsided yet he was still unable to move on. There was no point in returning home since he would only have to listen to Kai’s lamenting. However, he was sick of standing by. Picking himself up he began to walk. It no longer mattered where he strayed, as long as it was away. The night dwellers were beginning to emerge. A drunk stumbled and fell at Yuriy’s feet. A tart painted her best smiled and offered a hand. With a smile Yuriy declined the offered false comfort.

“ _You aren’t of any worth to anyone outside these walls. You’d be foolish to think so. Are you a fool, Yuriy?”_

Grocery bag in one hand the young man paused by the corner. He pushed orange bangs away from his eyes. With a smile he approached the other young man who seemed to be frozen in time at the corner. “Do you want to come in?”

Old eyes looked back at him. “Why do you want me?”

“Your eyes are old like a fish that accepts death. I want to save you like I did Madeline. And I want you to stay with me like she did.”

Soft lips opened then paused. “I think it’s too late for me to be saved.”

Brooklyn stepped closer and placed a hand on Yuriy’s chest. “I could save you if you let me.”

An offer such as this was impossible for a shattered individual like Yuriy to pass up. It was so easy to close the gap, Yuriy’s fingers tangled in orange hair and he could feel pent up despair dissipating.

“Come in.”

Without thought Yuriy followed Brooklyn down the street, through the yard, past the cherry blossom tree where they met and finally into the house. The interior was ablaze with lights. A maid gave Yuriy a raised eyebrow but continued on her way without question.

“This is Garland’s house, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Brooklyn led them through a series of corridors until they came to the kitchen. Leaning against a counter was Garland; he held a bowl of cereal in one hand spoon in the other. Upon seeing Yuriy he swallowed wrong and started hacking. It’s not that he was afraid it was just that Yuriy Ivanov was the last person he expected to see in his kitchen. There was also the fact that Brooklyn had brought someone home. It was unusual for Brooklyn to take to anyone. Garland had to work a great deal to even get Brooklyn to acknowledge his presence. Hitoshi had been the only person to break the barrier quickly and now it seemed that Yuriy had outdone even him.

“What are you doing?” Garland demanded trying not to acknowledge Yuriy’s presence.

“Does it really matter to you who I associate with?” Brooklyn raised an eyebrow and set his bag on the counter.

“Is my presence that bothersome?” There was now a hint of a smirk playing at Yuriy’s lips.

Placing his bowl on the counter Garland straightened. “No, it’s just I never expected to see you again.”

“Oh, because you nearly killed me? I haven’t forgotten I do intend to pay you back someday.”

Garland wanted to make a witty comment but something gave him the impression that Yuriy was willing and capable of severely injuring or killing him. The fact that Brooklyn brought him here showed that he cared something for Yuriy as well. And when Brooklyn cared for something then it was in everyone’s best interest not to mess with it.

“Just... don’t break anything too expensive.” Garland took up his bowl again and headed to his room.

‘ _Brooklyn, it’s going to die. Just leave the bird to suffer or end its life now if you want to show it some mercy.’_

“ _You don’t know that, Garland!’ Brooklyn held the bird in his hands, her left wing was a mess of bloody feathers. She gave s soft chirp of trust._

Brooklyn took the bread out of the bag and placed it by the fridge. He was going to the park tomorrow to feed the magpies. The magpies liked to gossip and knew everything. IF Brooklyn was kind to them then they’d tell all the other birds of his kindness.

Yuriy stood deep in thought. To Brooklyn he looked so sad. Wrapping his arms around Yuriy he offered, “Stay here tonight.”

A pause. “Yes.”

They kissed for a second time. And a third and fourth. It continued all the way up to Brooklyn’s room.

-X-

“Where were you?”

Yuriy paused with his arm half out of his jacket. “I was out.”

Kai was leaning against the wall looking his usual emotionless self. “You should say something when you’re going to stay out all night. It saves me the trouble of worrying.”

“You’re so caring,” he scoffed. “Since when have you cared if I were dead or not?”

“I’ve always cared.”

“Yah, sure. You’re a lot more of an idiot than you think.” He tried to walk past but Kai caught his arm.

“Don’t think for a second that I never cared for you.”

Pent up frustration finding an outlet Yuriy pushed Kai into the wall. “Don’t fucking play with me, Hiwatari. You don’t care for anyone but yourself. You barely even have room in there for Dranzer, Rei and Takao. I can’t believe I wasted so much fucking time on you.” Nothing would have pleased Yuriy more than to cause Kai excruciating pain but he was better than that.

“What do-”

Yuriy kissed Kai fiercely but before anything could progress he ripped himself away. “That’s what you could have had if you had only opened your goddamn eyes for a second. Talk to me again today and I swear I’ll kill you.” Turning on his heel Yuriy stormed up the stairs.

Kai placed a finger to his lips and stood in deep thought for a moment.”So that’s why he’s been acting so strangely lately.”

-X-

Lazily fingers ran through the grass. The whole yard smelled of life. Thin strands of red lay amongst the green blades and nearby brilliant strands of orange. The mid-afternoon sun was hot and drugging. “Mmm, I’m going to fall asleep,” Brooklyn groaned.

“Is that really so bad?”

Brooklyn rolled on to his side and smiled. Yuriy was lovely in the sunlight, like a delicate flower. Yet his true beauty came out in the moonlight when his ivory skin seemed to glow in the ghostly light.

“You remind me of cherries and cream.” Brooklyn brought his lips to soft pink ones. After their tender moment ended they stayed close. Icy eyes fluttered open and Brooklyn studied them intently.

“Your eyes don’t look quite so old.”

“What does that mean?”

“You no longer look for death.”

‘ _Grandpa, if you love someone with old eyes enough can you make them young again?’_

_The old man thought for a moment. ‘Anything can be saved if you care enough. That’s why you can’t hate, hate leads to death.’_

-X-

Contemplative. That was the word he searched for: considering different ways in which to deal with things. Kai could not deny that he was in a dilemma. “Yuriy...” He sighed and flopped on to his bed. His limbs melted into the too soft mattress. If two of them wasn’t bad enough now there was a third possible lover in the mix. For two weeks now Yuriy had barely been in the house. Kai was dreadfully confused by it all and had thus barely left the house.

The door to the next room shut softly, Yuriy was home.

Dormant feelings were brought to life when Yuriy kissed him. Kai liked Yuriy once upon a time but had this misfortune of going for those he could not have. There was obviously someone else in Yuriy’s life. The other teen had a bounce in his step. Boris was concerned, he thought Yuriy had lost his sanity or was on drugs.

The door suddenly opened and Boris hurried in, he looked completely stricken.

“You didn’t knock.”

“Stop being so particular, Hiwatari.” He sat on the desk chair and fiddled with his hands for a minute. “Yuriy smiled at me today when he came in and then, most horrible of all, he slapped my ass on the way by! I think he’s possessed.”

“He’s trying to get at me.”

Boris raised an eyebrow. “Then why is he slapping my buttocks?”

“You’re so naive.” Kai sighed, “look, he had feelings for me but I ignored him and chased after Takao and Rei.”

For a moment all Boris could manage was to stare blankly. “Oh.” He fell silent for another minute. “I think he’s seeing someone.”

“Brilliant observation.”

“I’m going to find out whom.”

Kai sprung to his feet and grabbed Boris by the collar. “Are you crazy?”

“Possibly, but at least I’m not a pansy. Not knowing will only bug me. Now let go, Hiwatari, or I shall have to forcibly remove you from my person.”

Kai let go and he sighed. “Fine... just tell me who it is.”

“I’m not being your messenger. Come with me or find out on your bloody own.” Boris, more than anyone, knew how to push people’s buttons, call it a hobby.

“Fine,” Kai spat and crossed his arms over his chest.

The two teens left Kai’s room. Boris flung open Yuriy’s door without knocking and asked, “Whom are you dating?”

Yuriy paused, his shirt half on. He looked at Boris in annoyance. “Can’t you knock? It’s really not that difficult of a concept to grasp.”

“You’re avoiding the question.”

“Perhaps.” Yuriy smiled and put his shirt the rest of the way on. “So you two have finally figured it out. “He walked to Boris, a new sway in his hips. He came to stop mere centimetres away from Boris and whispered in his ear while looking at Kai the whole time. “It’s Brooklyn. You know, that pretty orange haired boy that nearly killed Kai. Twice.”

Dark memories flooded Kai’s mind. He was almost horrified that Yuriy could find comfort in that... demon. Anger was the first thing to overwhelm him. “You fucking asshole.”

“Actually, we haven’t gotten to that yet.”

Kai tried to launch himself at Yuriy but Boris intervened, he was amused by it all. The wolf had gone and found himself something to play with. “He’s pretty, isn’t he?”

“You’re alright with this?” Kai spat at Boris.

“I’m not opposed, you’re really taking this all too much to heart, Hiwatari.”

Slowly Yuriy approached “You gave up your chance, Hiwatari. “He leaned in even closer to the still restrained teen. “You should have acted sooner. Go back to your pining over Rei and Takao.”

“Let’s go.” Boris dragged the reluctant Kai out. “You’re really a moron.” Releasing Kai he walked to his own room.

Kai stared at the now closed door. He really had fucked things up, hadn’t he?

-X-

‘ _Yuriy, when we grow up let’s stay best friends, OK?’_

‘ _We have to get out of here first, Kai.’_

‘ _I know, but someday we’ll be as free as those birds outside the grounds.’_

‘ _OK Kai, when we’re free like the birds I’ll still be your best friend.’_

Face down on the desk was a picture of them all. Kai had even smiled. Beside the photograph lay a bracelet of uneven seashells, a result of a day at the beach with Brooklyn. There was such purity about him, a purity that Yuriy never wanted to see gone.

There was a loud thud from Kai’s room. “Hmm, punching the wall again... what an idiot.” The tight bond they’d shared as kids had withered away leaving nothing but stale memories.

Sick of silence he grabbed his wallet and headed downstairs. Rummaging through the fridge he determined that it was his turn to buy the groceries. By the looks of it he was a few days late.

“He’s hurting.”

Yuriy jumped a bit at Boris’ voice. “He’s always hurting, we all are.” He closed the fridge and crossed his arms.

“He’s different about you than the others.”

“He doesn’t love anyone, just wants the best prize.”

“It’s not like you love anyone either. Don’t bullshit me; you just want Brooklyn because he’ll let you in.”

“You act pretty knowledgeable about emotions for someone who doesn’t feel any.”

“I know more than you think.”He placed his hand on Yuriy’s shoulder. “Don’t do anything too stupid, that’s for Kai to do.” He smiled faintly then went to inspect the fridge. “Oh, it’s your turn for groceries.”

‘ _Mr. Balkov, when’s Kai going to come back?’_

_The two stood watching rescue teams dig through the rubble. Four guards lay under sheets._

‘ _Some day, Yuriy. Now go back to your room, there will be no lessons today.’_

-X-

Lazily Yuriy lay against the thick trunk of the tree. Before him sat Brooklyn, Madeline in his hands.

“Do you think I love you?” Yuriy asked.

Brooklyn continued to feed Madeline. Yuriy was about to forget he had asked the question when Brooklyn responded. “Maybe. I don’t know what you feel deep down. For all I know you want me just for sex. But I don’t mind as long as you stay loyal to me.” He looked up at Yuriy and smiled.

Chewing on words Yuriy sat in silence for several minutes. “I don’t know if I can love.”

“And I don’t know if birds can love.” Brooklyn lifted his hand to the air and Madeline flew the short distance to her nest. “We’re all capable of something, be it love or just loyalty. Love means something different to everyone. So the question shouldn’t be do I think you love me, it should be if you think you love me.”

For a long moment they stayed looking at each other. “I think... I think I do.” And Yuriy smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi to me on [tumblr!](maliciouslycreative.tumblr.com)


End file.
